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14.07.2011
Royal Corinthian Yacht Club Press Release
'Espada' wins 2011 Coutts Quarter Ton Cup.
'Tiger' wins Corinthian Division.
Cowes, UK - 13 July 2011 - The 31 boat international fleet competing at the 2011
Coutts Quarter Ton Cup were treated to three excellent races sailed in moderate
northerly winds on the third and final day of the regatta. The shifty breeze, combined
with strongish tides running across the racecourse for most of the day, made for
challenging conditions for the tacticians and skippers alike.
The (almost) all female crew aboard Louise Morton's 'Espada' took an 11 point lead
into the final day and with the tactical assistance of Stuart Childerley the girls
never looked likely to relinquish the stranglehold they established on this regatta
from the very first day. A third in the first race today, followed up by a first
and a second in the last two races, put their comprehensive overall victory beyond
any doubt. A win in the first race of the day along with second and third places
in the subsequent races, elevated the winners of last year's Coutts Quarter Ton
Cup, Darren Marston & Olly Ophaus on 'Cote', into second place overall. A 4,4,1
performance on the final day saw Day 1 regatta leader Rob Gray on 'Aguila', take
the final overall podium place. Rickard Melander's Swedish team on 'Alice II' finished
the regatta in fourth place with Eamonn Rohan's Irish crew aboard 'Anchor Challenge
in fifth.
In the strictly amateur only Corinthian Division George Kenefick's Irish entry 'Tiger'
confirmed overall victory with a 2,1,2 Corinthian scoreline on the final day, by
a margin of 23 points. Impressively "Tiger' also finished in sixth place in the
overall standings. After a putting on a good final day performance, Paul Kelsey
on 'Runaway Bus' moved up to take second place in the Corinthian Division, 5 points
ahead of Willy McNeil & Mike Pascall on 'Illegal Immigrant' in third.
A packed and at times slightly raucous prizegiving ceremony was held at the Royal
Corinthian Yacht Club soon after racing concluded. The prize for the youngest crew
competing went to 'Panic' owned by Paul & Mark Lees, with a combined age of just
142. Contrastingly, Tony Dodd's crew on 'Diamond' swept the board in the oldest
crew category, totting up to 296 years between them. Diamond's George Webb also
collected a beautiful wooden walking stick trophy as the regatta's oldest Bowman.
'Diamond' was also the recipient of one further tongue in cheek prize - a small
tin of lubricating oil to help silence their spectacularly noisy spinnaker halliard
sheave which had deafened the fleet at every leeward gate during the regatta. The
Concourse D'Elegance Marineware Trophy for the smartest boat and crew, as voted
for by the Race Committee, was awarded to Dmitri Borodin's Russian entry 'Bullit'
- primarily for their stylish matching blue waterproofs. Having been overheard earlier
in the week enthusiastically wondering if there would be a prize for the boat to
finish in last place in the regatta, Richard Johnson & Sarah Lyle's on 'Hanah J'
were duly awarded a specially purchased Wooden Spoon for their spirit and perseverance
over the 9 race series.
The trophy donated by Quarter Ton Class patron Bob Fisher
and awarded to the oldest competing boat went to Paul Treliving's 'Odd Job'. Designed
by Stephen Jones and built in 1973, 'Odd Job' was originally owned by Jack Knights
who ironically sailed her with Bob Fisher himself in the Quarter Ton Cup that year.
A new trophy donated by class stalwart Peter Morton for the first boat with her
original keel went to Rickard Melander's 'Alice II' and the prize for the first
production boat went to Laurent Beaurin's Farr 727 '45 South'. The Coutts Quarter
Ton Trophy, awarded to the boat with the most first places in the regatta, went
to 'Espada'.
Despite having owner and skipper Louise Morton sidelined due to a leg injury just
prior to the regatta, the 'Espada' crew proved to be slicker in their boat handling
and more astute on their tactical calls throughout the event. With a string of 5
race wins and able to discard a fourth place, it was the 'Espada' crew's sheer
consistency that ultimately enabled them to dominate this regatta. Speaking immediately
after the prizegiving this afternoon, replacement helmsman Colette Blair, had this
to say "We are very pleased as a team to have won. I don't think it was something
we expected. Coming into the regatta I think we were shooting for a top three result,
so coming away with a win is a great success."
Despite taking an 11 point lead into
the final day Blair confessed to some last day nerves creeping in during today's
3 races. "We were still nervous going out there this morning and the first race
first beat we definitely were showing signs of the jitters. We made a couple of
mistakes early on, but once we had got them out of our system for the rest of the
day there were no real problems." Asked about the importance of the contribution
of Stuart Childerley - Espada's token male for the regatta - Blair had this to
say: "Stuart's experience was something that really helped us, but also having him
there really challenged us a lot too. There was no let up with him onboard. We had
to be constantly on the ball, working hard all the time. We all felt that we needed
to be 100 percent the whole time to keep up with what Stuart demanded of us."
For further information about the 2011 Coutts Quarter Ton Cup please visit www.rcyc.co.uk
Revived Coutts Quarter Ton Cup Winners
2005 - Purple Haze (1977 David Thomas design) - Tony Dodd
2006 - Enigma - (1977 Ed Dubois design) - Ed Dubois
2007 - Espada - (1980 Bruce Farr design) - Peter Morton
2008 - Tom Bombadil (1982 Doug Peterson design) - Chris Frost & Kevin George
2009 - Anchor Challenge (1978 Bruce Farr design) - Peter Morton
2010 - Cote (1990 Gonzalez design) - Darren Marston & Olly Ophaus
Royal Corinthian Yacht Club
Jo Chugg
Sailing Secretary
Paul Wyeth
Official Photographer
+447549 884 683
paul@pwpictures.com
www.quartertonclass.org
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